Separating jig



P. MARADEO' SEPARATING JIG I June 23, 1931.

Filed Nov. 24, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 R o T N E V N ATTO RNEY P. MARADEOSEPARATING JIG June 23, 1931.

Filed Nov. 24, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I II,

mlj mn Nil Ill P6791" 77Zaraaeo ATTORNEY WITNESS P. MARADEO SEPARATINGJIG June 23, 1931.

Filed NOV. 24, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY fife/ 7/ZaredeaPatented June 23, 1931 PETER MARADEG, or nEsQUEHoNING, PENNSYLVANIASEPARATING are Application filed November 24, 1928. Serial N0.'321,628.

This invention relates to a jig for the sep aration of minerals or othermaterial by the utilization of the differences in their-specificgravities, the invention being mainly de- 35 signed for the separationof coal from rock orslate, and the general object of the invention beingto make the operat'ion of the device entirely automatic so that itrequires no hand labor.

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combina tion and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describingthe invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which V Figure1 is a plan view of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view. Figure 3 is an end view, withparts in section. j

Figure 1 is a section on lined- 4 of Figure 2. V Figure 5 is asectional'view through Figure 4:, with parts broken away.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but showing the parts inadiiferent position.

Figure 7 is a'detailview showing howthe latch member engages the slidingbar to hold the same in retracted position.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view showing how the rack bar isassociated with the" V plunger. 7

In these views, the numeral 1 indicates a supporting frame in which isplaced a tank 4 2, the upper part of the tank containing the partitions3 which divide said upper part of the tank into a plunger chamber A anda separator or receiving chamber B for receiving the material to beseparated. A chute G is formed at one side of the chamber B by theadjustable gate 3 which is slidably arranged in the guideways 4;attached to the walls of the tank, this chute receiving the lightermaterials from the chamber The gate may be adjusted to any desiredposition by means of the rack bar 5 attached to the upper end chargedinto the chute 15.

of the gate-and having a handle 6 at itsupper end, the toothed portionof the rack bar being pressed against a toothed member 7 by a spr1ng'8.Thus the gate can be adjusted to any desired position to regulate theamount of material passing from the receiving cha1nber into the chute.The material passing into the chute gravitates into the lower end of anelevator 9 which delivers the material into a chute 10. Y V

A screen 11 forms the bottom of the chamber B and a portion 11' of thisscreen is con nected bya hinge 12 to a part of the chamber so that saidsection can swing downwardlyand when in its lowest position, the freeend of the hinged section will rest against the upwardly extending-part13 of'an elevator 14 which delivers the .material dropping from thehinged section into the chute 15.

A plunger 16is arranged in the plunger 7 chamber A and has a pair ofconnecting rods 17 connected therewith, the upper ends of these rodsbeing connected with a pair of cranks 18 of a crank shaft 19 journaledon the top of the tank and which is driven from 5 any suitable source bymeans of the belt 20 passing over a pulley 21 on the shaft. The conveyorin the elevator 9 is also driven from this shaft 19 through means of thebelt 22 which passes over a pulley 23 on the shaft 19.and over a pulley24 on the upper shaft of the conveyor. A pair of weighted levers 25' ispivoted to a part of the frame and the front ends of these levers areconnected'by the cables 26 with the'hinged section 11 of v' the screen,weights 27 being placed on the other ends of the levers. These weightsact to hold the hinged section of the screen in closed position, butwhen a certain amount of material collects on said section, the sectionwill drop so that this material will pass therefrom upon the elevator 14and thus be disv The hinged sec tion will then be closed again by theweights.

'In order to prevent the hinged section from closing before all thematerial passes there from, I provide a dashpot 28 in the lower part ofthe tank, the piston 29 of which is connected by a rod 30 with thehinged section. Thus the hinged section can move downwardly withoutbeing retarded by the dashpot, but its upward movement is retarded bythe dashpot in the usual manner, so that the material collecting in thebottom of the chamber will have a chance to be discharged before thesection is closed by the weighted levers.

I provide motor 31 for driving the conveyor of the elevator 14 throughmeans of the belt 32 and the pulleys 33 and the circuit of this motor isclosed by the lowering of the hinged section through means of a switcharm 34 connected with an extension 35 of one of the cables 26, this armengaging a spring actuated part 36 when the arm is moved downwardly bythe opening of the hinged section of the screen so as to close thecircuit from the battery 37 to the motor. Thus the conveyor of theelevator 14 will only operate when the material is being dischargedthereon by the downward movement of the hinged section 11.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when a proper amount of water isplaced in the tank and the material to be separated is placed in thechamber B, the movement of the plunger 16 will agitate the water so thatthe coal, which is lighter than the rock and slate, will be forced tothe top and over the gate into the chute C, the heavier materialcollecting on the bottom of the screen. Vhen the weight of this materialon the screen overbalances the weight 27, the hinged section of thescreen will drop, thus discharging the material on to the elevator andat the same time closing the switch of the motor 31 so that the elevatorwill be actuated and thus the heavier material will be carried up by theelevator and deposited into the chute 15. The hinged section will thenreturn to closed position. However, this return movement is slow enoughto give the material chance to drop upon the elevator and the elevatorto lift the same before the switch is opened.

Water is delivered into the tank from a suitable source of supply by apipe 38 in which is placed a control valve 39, this valve being normallyheld in closed position by a weight 40 connected to the handle of thevalve by a cable 41 which passes over a pulley 42 supported on a part ofthe frame. This cable 41 is also connected to a bucket 43 after passingover a pulley 44, this bucket being of such a size that when it is fullof water, it will be heavier than the weight and thus the bucket willopen the valve 39 and permit water to flow into the tank.

A sludge discharge chute 45 is fastened to the bottom of the tank and isclosed by a sliding door 46, this door being normally held in closedposition by a weight 47 which is connected with the door by a cable 48which passes over the pulleys 49. A second bucket 50 is connected withthe door 46 by a cable 51 passing over the guiding means 52, thisbucket, when full of water, being heavierthan the weight 47 so that itwill move the door to open position. Branch pipes 53, connected with asupply pipe 54, extend over the buckets so that when the valve 55 insaid supply pipe is open, water will flow into the buckets to fill thesame so that they will move downwardly and thus open the valve 39 toadmit water into the tank and open the door 46 so that the sludgecollecting in the bottom of the tank will be discharged therefrom.

A valve 56 is arranged in the bottom of each bucket and each valve willbe moved to open position as the bucket nears its downward limit ofmovement by striking a block 57 whereby the water will run from eachbucket,

thus lightening the same so that the weight which is attached to eachbucket will raise the bucket and close the valve or the door. The valvein the bucket 50 is much larger than that in the bucket 43 so that thewater will drain from said bucket 50 sooner than it will drain from thebucket 43, thus permitting the door to close before the valve in thewater supply pipe is closed so that the tank can be filled after thedoor is closed and before the water supply is cut off.

In order to prevent the buckets from rising too soon, I: provide a pairof spring actuated latches 58 for each bucket, the latches engagingfianges 59 on the bottom of each bucket when the bucket reaches itslowest position so that the bucket is held by the latches in loweredposition. A float 60 is arranged in each bucket and a pair of U-shapedmembers 61 is connected with each float, these members passing over thetop of the bucket and engaging parts on the latches as the float nearsthe bottom of the bucket'so that the latches will be moved to releasingposition when the bucket is empty so that the weight can return thebucket to raised position and close'the valve, the other bucket actingto close the door.

The water is permitted to flow into the buckets at predetermined timesthrough means of a sliding bar 62 connected by cables 63 with the handle55 of valve arranged in the supply pipe 54-, this bar being normallyheld in a positionwith the valve open by a spring'65, with a latch'tifiengaging a keeper part 67 on the bar for holding the bar in a positionwith the valve closed. The latch is normally held inlatching position lya. spring 167 and it is moved to releasing position by the crank end ofa shaft 68 jOll1' naled in a housing 69 and in a bracket 70. An arm 71is fastened. to the shaft and is lo cated within the housing 69. andsaid arm is engaged by a trip finger 72 on a shaft 73 journaled in thehousing and to which a ratchet wheel 7 is connected. A spring dog 75 ispivotally arranged in the housing and engages the ratchet wheel in sucha manner that when the dog is moved by a cami fi on a shaft 77 ournaledin the housing, the wheel is moved one step. A'train of gearing 78connects the shaft 77 witha shaft 79 which is driven from the shaft 19through means of the belt 80 and the pulleys 81. Thus after the shaft 19has made a certain number of revolutions, the resultant movement of thetrain of gears will have moved the pawl a sufficient number of times tocause the ratchet wheel 74 and its shaft 7 3 to make a completerevolution and upon each'revolution of the shaft 73, the'trip finger72will engage the arm 71 on the crank shaft 68 so that said shaft will berocked and thus its cranked end, engaging the element 66, will move saidlatch toreleasing position, which will permit the spring 65 to move thebar 62 to a position where one of the cables 63 will move the valve toopen position so that water can flow into the buckets. The bar isreturned to its first position where it will be engaged and held by thelatch 66 through means of the cable 82 which connects the bar with thebucket 43, whereby as the bucket descends, the bar 62 will be moved to aposition where the valve 64 will be closed and the bar will be held inthis position by the latch 66. Thus at certain intervals of time, thesludge door 46 will be opened and water admitted to the tank to cleanthe tank and then the door will be closed and the water controllingvalve closed automatically so that the device will continue to operate.7

A. rack bar 83 is slidably mounted in a groove 84 formed in one side ofthe plunger and the teeth of this bar are engaged by a latch 85 carriedby the plunger. This bar has a foot portion 86 which, if the screenshould break and the material thereon passinto the lower part of thetank, would engage such material on the downward movement of the plungerand thus the rack bar would be forced upwardly past the latch, the latchacting to prevent the bar dropping again. When the bar is so raised onthe upward movement of the plunger, its upper end would strike an arm 87on the shaft 68 so that the shaft would be rocked, thus causing thecranked end of the shaft to move the latch 66 to releasing position sothat water would flow into the buckets and the buckets would drop, thusopening the door 46 and causing water to flow into the tank so that thematerial would be discharged from the tank. A lever 88 is pivotallyarranged on the top of the plunger and is connected to the latch 87 by aflexible member 89.

A trip 90 is arrangedin the plunger chamher and is carried by a shaft 91which has fastened thereto an arm 92 which is connected by a cable 93with the bucket 50, so that as the bucket drops, the shaft 91 is rocked,thus moving the trip 90 into the path of the lever 88 so that said leverwill be rocked on the upward movement of the plunger, which will movethelatch 85 to reof the plunger, as shown in Figure 8. Thus the rack bar isreturned to its normal position on the upward movement of the plunger.

As will be seen, the agitation of the water in the tank by the plungerwill separate the lighter materials from the heavier materials, thelighter materials passing to the chute C from which they are taken bythe elevator 9 which is constantly in operation. The heavier materials,collecting on the screen, will, when they overbalance the weights 27,cause the hinged section of the screen to drop, thus discharging suchmaterials on to the elevator 141;, the motor of which begins to operatewhen the hinged section of the screen is lowered'so that these heaviermaterials are removed from the apparatus. The screen closes again andbreaks the circuit of the motor after the materials have beendischarged. After certain intervals of time, water is admitted tothe'buckets so as to open the discharge door 46 and admit water into thetank to clean the same after which the door is closed. as well as thevalve in the water pipe. Thus the tank is periodically cleaned w Ifanything should happen to the screen which would permit the materialthereon to drop into the tank, the rack bar. 83 would come intooperation to actuate the means for discharging the material from thebottom of the tank. Thus the device is entirely automatic in operationand eliminates hand labor.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction andin the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided thatsuch changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

: What I claim is V 1. A jig of theclass described comprising a tankhaving a plunger chamber, a plunger in the plunger chamber, means foroperating the plunger, a discharge door in the bottom of the tank, valvecontrolled means for supplying water to the tank, automatic means foropening the door and the valve at predetermined intervals, such meansbeing operated from the plunger actuating means, means whereby the dooris closed before the closing of the valve and means associated with theI meansif the material should collect in the bot-' tom of the tankthrough damage of the screen, said means associated with the plungerincluding a member operated by impact with the material in the bottom ofthe tank.

2. A jig of-the class described comprising a tank, a discharge door inthe bottom of the tank, a water supply pipe for delivering water tothe'tank, a valve in said pipe, means for normally holding the doorclosed, means for normally holding the valve closed, a pair of buckets,means for connecting one bucket to the valve for opening the valve whenthe bucketdescends, means for connecting the other bucket to the doorfor opening the door when said bucket descends, means for supplyingwater to the buckets, such means containing a valve, a sliding barconnected with the valve, spring means for holding the bar in a positionwith the valve in the bucket supply means open, a lat h for holding thebar in a position witn said valve closed, trip means for movin the latchto releasing position, a train of gears for operating the trip means atpredetermined intervals, means for emptying the buckets when they reachtheir lower limit of movement whereby the door and valve closing meanswill return the buckets to raised position and means operated by onebucket for returning the slide bar to its iirst position.

A jig of the class described comprising a tank, provided with a plungerchamber and a separator chamber, a screen in the separator chamber, aplunger in the plunger chamber, means for operating the plunger, a discharge door in the bottom of the tank, a water supply pipe fordelivering water to the tank, a valve in said pipe, means for normallyholding the door closed, means for normally holding the valve closed, apair of buckets, means "for connecting one bucket to the valve foropening the valve when the bucket descends, means for connecting theother bucket to the door for opening the door when said bucket descends,means for supplying water to the buckets, such means containing a valve,a sliding bar connected with the valve, spring means for holding the barin a position with the valve in the bucket supply means open, a latchfor holding the bar in, a position with said valve closed, trip meansfor moving the latch to releasing position, a train of gears foroperating the trip means at predetermined intervals, means for operatingthe gears from the plunger operating means, means for emptying thebuckets when they reach their lower limit of movement whereby the doorand valve closin means will return the buckets to raised position, meansoperated by one bucket for returning the slide bar to its firstposition, a rack bar slidably arranged in the plunger and having a tootportion for engaging material in the bottom of the tank, due to thematerial dropping from the separator chamber by the breakage of thescreen whereby the bar will. be raised, means operated by said bar onthe upward movement of the plunger for releasing the latch oi" thesliding bar and means actuated by one of the buckets for causing therack bar to return to its normal position.

A jig of the class described comprising

